Spelling 101

Peddle (v): to carry (small articles, goods, wares, etc.) from place to place for sale at retail; hawk.

Pedal (v): to work or use the pedals, as in playing an organ or propelling a bicycle.

Funny story...

I recently designed a new spin off Keep Calm print that I was really psyched about. It went unsold for a pretty long time, which I thought was weird because it seemed like it was a clever and fun little print. So...finally someone bought it. She was even nice enough to send me an email right after she made the payment to let me know how excited she was to give it to her boyfriend.

And then I got another email after she received the print.


Apparently when she gave the print to her boyfriend, he noticed that...umm...I spelled pedal wrong. Peddle vs. Pedal. Peddle - to sell goods. Pedal - spin the tires around on your bike. When I got that email I probably stared at my computer screen for a good 30 seconds in total mortification, thinking "God, I hope this doesn't end up on Regretsy." How could I have looked at the print 100 times, taken pictures of it, showed it to my husband, written copy for it...and not noticed that I was a total idiot.


Luckily, my gracious customer was very understanding of my faux pas and was willing to take another print in the mail (Sarah - your print is in the mail today!).

By the way - if you're wondering why I've been missing from the blogging world its because I've been in my workshop getting ready for ArtisAlive! that will be taking place on April 9 and 10th. I promise to post some pictures soon of all the new things we've been working on...very good stuff.

Perfectly Imperfect Bottles

Oh, how I love these bottles I found online here. Can you blame me?

Happy Valentine's Day

"I've fallen in love many times...always with you." ~Author Unknown

Best. Sugar Cookies. Ever.

photo courtesy of flickr

Well - at least the best ones that I've ever made.

I'll be the first one to admit that I'm not the most experienced cook in the world {my husband, however, is a rockstar in the kitchen}. But I can bake. And even though I consider myself to be a stellar baker and have mastered many Martha Stewart recipes {grating frozen butter, anyone?}, the one recipe that has always eluded me has been sugar cookies.

Sugar cookies...SUGAR COOKIES! They're about as basic as it gets. Believe me, I've told myself this many times. As simple as it sounds, they just have never tasted as good as what I remember them to be growing up. I secretly think my mom might be trying to sabotage me by giving me a bogus recipe.

So, I think I've finally found a brand spanking new recipe I can live with. Thank you Paula Deen. I found this little miracle on FoodNetwork.com and you can partake in its glory here. I did change one thing...I used this buttercream frosting instead of the suggested royal icing. The texture of the cookies was perfect...not crunchy but not too doughy and soft. And the buttercream frosting was out of this world...sweet but not sickeningly sweet. A perfect balance.

Now, with the whopping 4 sticks of butter that went into these cookies, I don't think I'll be whipping them up every weekend. But I'll definitely be filing this recipe away in for holidays and any other day where a sugar cookie is in order.

Valentine's Day Goods

I didn't do as big of a product blowout for Valentine's Day as I had hoped...but we did make some pretty good little items to spruce up your gift-giving {and best of all - you can use them after Valentine's Day!}

Canvas Prints

Be Mine Banner

Paper Heart Confetti

It's the little things you do...hand-stamped and framed print

Julia Child Marriage Quote - Canvas Print

All You Need is Love - Framed Print

Winter Hiking

We had a nice big snowstorm this weekend...which makes for perfect winter hiking {one of our favorite activities}.

I thought I would share a few glimpses of our Saturday...

Waffles and Iced Vanilla Frappes

I'm a sucker for New Years' resolutions. I always make a huge list and then end up completing only a few of them {or none at all}. This year I'm trying to make good on the resolutions I made. One of them was to learn to cook. I'm not a total dunce in the kitchen, but most of the things I make come straight out box. I want to learn to prepare and present food. Not only that, I want to learn to do it in a manner that fits into my busy life.

This morning, I figured I would tackle a traditional breakfast of waffles. I received a waffle maker as a bridal shower gift about 5 years ago, and I'm embarrassed to say that its only made its way out of the kitchen cabinet once.

photo courtesy of flickr - my waffles didn't even look close to this

So, if your a novice cook like myself, here are a few lessons I learned this morning. If you're an experienced cook - feel free to snicker away.

1.) Make extra batter - the first few waffles you make will inevitably come out torn, burned, charred...you name it...until you get the hang of removing the waffle at the right time.

2.) The steam - I read that the natural time to take out the waffle is when the steam stops rising from the waffle maker. However, I think what it really meant is when the steam slows down . If you wait until the steam stops your waffle will be burned. When the steam starts to slow down - that's when to remove the waffle.

3.) Don't fill up the entire waffle maker with batter! It will spill out the sides and make a gigantic mess. One ladle full of batter seemed to work okay for me for medium sized waffle maker.

The other thing I made this morning was Iced Vanilla Frappes. No - not from scratch, but they sure did taste yummy. I used this On The Go Vanilla Latte mix. Instead of just mixing with hot water, I used the powder with some milk and ice in a blender and viola - a drink that rivals the Starbucks Frappuccino.